PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - June 25

June 25 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* The U.S. Supreme Court avoided a sweeping ruling on affirmative action in a closely watched case involving the University of Texas, sending the case back to a lower court for review. ()

* Students attending charter schools posted slightly higher learning gains overall in reading than their peers in traditional public schools and about the same gains in math, but the results varied drastically by state. ()

* The recession ended four years ago, and the job market is recovering. But for many job seekers, it hasn't felt like much of a recovery. ()

* The rout in the credit markets has gotten so messy some investors are having trouble finding people willing to buy what they are selling. From municipal bonds to corporate debt to mortgage-backed securities, prices fell sharply again Monday, extending big declines that began last week. ()

* Bridgewater Associates, which built a $150 billion hedge-fund empire with the promise of strong performance even in turbulent markets, is suffering from the market's recent convulsions. ()

* New pipelines are beginning to carry a glut of domestic crude from the middle of the country to Texas' Gulf Coast, boosting the fortunes of the area's big refineries. ()

* The sharp weakening of the South African rand spells more bad news for precious-metal investors, who already are reeling from the fall in gold prices. ()

* John Hammergren, current chairman and CEO of drug distributor McKesson, would have received a record pension benefit of $159 million in a lump-sum payment had he voluntarily departed on March 31. ()

* The co-founder of Specialty Medical Supplies has been held since Friday in his factory on the outskirts of Beijing, he said, as about 80 employees are refusing to let him go until they get severance packages. ()

* Oracle and Microsoft agreed to allow pieces of Oracle's software more closely mesh with Microsoft's software and online services in a nod to their role in customers' Web-accessed "cloud services." ()

* Angry Birds maker Rovio said its U.S.-based head of strategic partnerships, Andrew Stalbow, has decided to leave the company, marking the latest in a string of high-level management changes at the company. ()

* KKR has agreed to buy clinical-research firm PRA International in a deal that shows private equity's ongoing interest in research-for-hire firms that cater to drug developers. ()